The Democratic press. [volume] (Ravenna, O. [Ohio]) 1868-1901, 1887-10-27

foreign gooas would cost him If il were not
for the duty. To say that woolens and
cottons, and manufactures of iron and
steel, and queeusware and glassware, and
silk goods, and a thousand other things
are not raised in price by a tariff tax of
fifty. or sixty, or eighty per cent. is stupid
ly foolish; and to say that like goods made
In this country are not raised in price by
the tax on imported goods is such gross
folly that it is hard to believe that any
human being, not an idiot or lunatic
credits it. Take for example silk cloth.
The duty on a yard of French silk costing
one dollar in Paris or Lyons is fifty cents.
We make many. millions Of dol
lars worth of such goods. Now il
q merchant buys a cargo of silks, say
in Lyons, and costing him $4,000
and then pays $50, 900 for the privilege of
selling them in this country, would not
every one say he utterly lacked business
sense and sagacity if he did that when it
was in his power to have gone to Patter-
son, New Jersey. and purchased an equal
amount of equally good silk for ANYTHING
less than Sl50,000P But our merchants
imported silk goods in 1885 to the extent
of more than $2S, S,000,0 But they also
imported in like manner vast quantities Of
woolen cloth and other manrfa ctures Of
wool, to the extent of over $35, 900, 900, on
which duties were paid at the rate ei
$3.50 per cent. We imported cottons ia
the extent of nearly SIT 900, 600, and paid
duties on them at the rate of 1888 pei
cent. We imported of manufactures Of
iron and steel to the extent of $4,000, 600,
on which we paid duties at the rate OF
Al % per cent. We imported between six
and seven millions of dollars of glass and
glassware. on which duties were paid at
the rate of 55 72 per cent. So l might 60
on showing that vast importations ara
made of many kinds of goods
paying enormous rates of duties.
All these goods must be enhanced
In price by the duty to an extent
at least equal to the duty, and all
like goods of American make are enhanced
in about an equal sum. The consequence
is, and can not be otherwise, that the
American people are compelled by law to
pay higher prices for the goods they con.
sumo than they would be under the neces.
slty of paying if we had tariff levied at
a low rate. q How mu:h this sum 6pf ex.
cesslve prices is which we are compelled ia
pay, it is impossible to ascertain. BuI
that it amounts to many hundreds oi
millions year-no cent of which goet
into the treasury-is manifest merely by
considering the vast quantities Of Americar
goods we consume of like character TO those
which we import. ! have demonstrated,
l think, that tax levied on articles ol
consumption always bears most hardly on
the poor A tax levied for the purpose oi
raising the price of articles of consumption
from which no tax is collected, as home
manufactures, adds grievously to the bur.
dens which so severely press on the pool
Tor the purpose of compelling them to con.
tribute of their hard earned means, in
addition 10 all their contributions to the
support of the government, to the prof.
lts-often enormous-of protected capital.
lists.
EFFECT UPON LABOR.
But we are told that all this Is more than
made up to the poor man by the increase
OF bis wages. For moment suppose that
is true. = What is its effect on tie poor
man who is sick, or old. or blind OF
crippled, and cannot work? What is its
effect on weak and helpless women, on
widows and orphan children? There ara
IN this country millions of such people.
Have they no rights that are to be re-
spec'ed? To say, even if it were true. that
the tariff is necessary to keep up the price
OF labor If it makes the struggle for life
harder on our most helpless classes by in
creaslng the cost of tie articles they con,
sumo is a doctrine inhuman, barbarsus,
deviish beyond all conception. But it is
not true. The price of labor is less,
not more in consequence of the
tariff. The price of labor in Eng
land has greatly risen since she
repealed her protective laws. They are
far higher nov than in any densely popu-
lated country in the world, and the cost Of
living is less than il any country in the
world. Why would not the repeal Of our
protective laws have the same effec'? p?
There is far more labor devoted to agricul-
ture IN this country than in all our manu-
factories. What is tha effect on agricul-
tural laboFp Suppose the farmers Of Ohio
have ten millions of bushels of wheat for
sale. The price of every bushel of that
wheat is fixed by the price in Liverpool,
because we always have great surplus
which must be sold in the Liverpool mar
ket. Now suppose this ten mil .
lions of wheat is sent to Liver
pool, and sold for enough money to
buy ten millions of yards of cloth.
Who IN the world is injured by that
transaction? The people of England need
the wheat, the farmers of Ohio need the